Lemon Pound Cake

Hello, hello and Happy Veteran's Day! A huge Thank You to all the Vets who have served our country.

Did you guys have a great weekend? I'm out of town enjoying a change of scenery and having a fabulous time. While I'm away, I wanted to share a recipe for a delicious Lemon Pound Cake I made back in September. I'm not sure why it took me so long to share this one, but here it is!

When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make lemon pound cake instead!

Babe brought home a bunch of lemons from work and we weren't quite sure what to do with them. I finally decided to bake some sort of a cake for a knitting club meet-up that I was hosting that week for work. I referred to a Martha Stewart recipe and after a slight tweak, Lemon Pound Cake was born! Oh, Martha!

This recipe made use of my lemons, and it was incredible. It was really moist and it had the perfect texture. The glaze adds the perfect hint of sweetness! The ladies at knitting club all raved about this lemon cake and one even called the next day asking for the recipe :)

Ingredients:

Makes two loaves (they freeze beautifully!)

For the pound cake

1 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
3/4 cup milk
Zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, about 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs

For the glaze

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice, about 1/2 large lemon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F. Butter and flour two loaf pans (4.5" x 8" work best).

In a small bowl, combine milk with lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture, in three parts alternately with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Beat just until it comes together. Do not over-mix.

 

Divide batter evenly between pans and smooth the top of the batter. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. If the loaves start to brown too quickly, cover with foil.

 

While the cakes are baking, make the glaze. heat the sugar and lemon juice in a small pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and stir. once the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and let sit until cakes are done.

Once the loaves are done, let them cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Turn the loaves out on a cooling rack and use a pastry brush to spread the glaze evenly over the tops and sides of the loaves. Let dry and completely and cool, for at least 2 hours.


Enjoy!

White Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Happy Saturday everyone! I have a full weekend free from work-- I can hardly believe it! Before I go on my training run, I wanted to share a delicious recipe with all of you. Blogland has been on a pumpkin rampage since fall rolled around, so it's about time I pitched in and celebrated fall with a pumpkin recipe.

It's the weekend and weekends call for special treats! I made these White Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins last weekend while I was on my pumpkin kick and oh my... they were pretty tasty! Totally decadent, but really moist and flavorful. You should make these ASAP.

Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

heaping 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup white chocolate chips (feel free to use anywhere between 1/2 and 1 cup)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400*F. Fill the muffin pan with muffin liners (if you don't have any, cooking spray and flour work well).

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs and add the remaining wet ingredients. Mix well.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well.

Slowly incorporate the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Fold in the white chocolate chips.

Fill the muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Homemade German Chocolate Cake

One of my boyfriend's favorite desserts is German Chocolate Cake. I've baked him one each year for his birthday and I make it a few times each year in between. It's a bit of a labor-intensive cake, but any hassle is so worth it when I get to see him eat that first bite. Ok, enough of the lovey-dovey cheesiness... But really, this is my go-to recipe for German Chocolate Cake. It's the best!

 

 

Cake Ingredients:

 

1/2 cup boiling water

1 bar (4 oz) sweet cooking chocolate

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of butter or margarine, softened

4 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

4 egg whites, stiffly beaten

 

Directions:

 

Heat oven to 350. Grease three 8 or 9” round pans. Spray the bottom and sides of pans with cooking spray. I usually cut parchment paper to line the inside of the pans, and then spray with cooking spray for incredibly easy removal.

 

In a small bowl, pour the boiling water over the chocolate, stir until chocolate is melted. Let it cool. To speed up this process, chop the chocolate prior to adding the water.

 

Mix the sugar and butter in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Beat in chocolate and vanilla on low speed. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Add alternately with buttermilk, beating after each addition until batter is smooth.

 

Fold in the egg whites- be gentle!

 

Divide the batter between the three pans and bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of your pan. When a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean, the cake is done. Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes before removing them from the pans.

 

 

While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting.

 

 

Coconut -Pecan Frosting Ingredients:

 

3 egg yolks

1 cup of evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup margarine or butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/3 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

 

Directions:

 

Beat egg yolks and milk in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in sugar, margarine and vanilla. Cook over medium heat for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick. Stir consistently, so that you don’t have scrambled eggs! Stir in the coconut and pecans. Beat until frosting is of spreading consistency.

 

 

Homemade Ice Cream Cake

Is anyone else doing the Burpee Challenge with me? (It's 50 Burpees each day for all of August.) Though it's only day 2, I'm already feeling the burn! I guess it may also have something to do with the fact that I've taught 4 really intense fitness classes this week... Anyway...


In case you didn't hear, my mom celebrated her 54th birthday last week. To help her celebrate, Chuck and I made her an ice cream cake. I firmly believe that every person born in a summer month should have an ice cream cake for their birthday. Amen.

Mom's favorite part about an ice cream cake is the chocolate cookie layer (thank you Carvel for high expectations), so I was sure to incorporate that as well. This cake was not only simple to make, but it was more delicious and less expensive than that aforementioned store-bought kind.

You guys are going to love me forever after you make this Homemade Ice Cream Cake. Or maybe you'll hate me because you will want to eat the entire thing. Either way, I'm sharing the recipe with you today.

 

[Note: I made this cake by using just one 9" Springform pan. If you have two of the same size Springform pans, you can create a multi-layer ice cream cake and you won't have to waste leftover cake batter, ice cream, and Oreos... like it would go to waste anyway!]

 

Ingredients:

 

1 box of your favorite cake mix

1 carton of your favorite ice cream

1/3 to 2/3 package of your favorite flavor Oreos (or any cookie)

Chocolate Syrup or hot fudge

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

Prepare the cake mix as directed on the box and fill a 9" Springform pan about 1/3 full (more or less depending on how much room you want to leave for ice cream). Tip: In the event that your Springform pan doesn't have the best seal, place the pan on a cookie sheet, just to be safe. You may need to increase baking time by a few minutes.

Bake for about 22-26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool on a wire rack (You can undo the latch and separate the bottom of the pan from the sides so that it cools faster. However, do not move the cake off of the bottom piece of the Springform pan).

While the cake is cooling, crush the Oreo cookies in a food processor and set aside.

Once the cake is cool (with the Springform pan in one piece and latched), spread ice cream evenly over the top of the cake. Tip: You may need to melt the ice cream in the microwave for a few seconds if it is frozen solid and difficult to work with. In the event that your pan doesn't have the best seal, you may want to put a plate under the pan so that you don't end up with a melted ice cream mess.

Next, spread the Oreo crumbs evenly over the ice cream layer and drizzle with chocolate syrup or hot fudge. Freeze immediately. I recommend covering the ice cream cake (to avoid frost formation) by placing it in a cake cover or by placing a plate over the pan. At this point, your cake will be ready in a few hours. We let ours freeze overnight and it was perfect!


Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Pudding Cookies

Happy Saturday, everyone. I'm going to start the day off right by sharing a super easy cookie recipe with you! I typically love my baked goods made from scratch (despite the semi-homemade desserts I've recently shared on here), but for a batter that takes minutes to make and just a few more minutes to cook, this recipe fits the bill. I definitely prefer cookies made from scratch to these cake/pudding mix, but they are still delicious and they really hit the spot!

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 Duncan Hines 16.5oz cake mix (I used classic white, but use whatever you like)
1 small 3.4oz box of instant pudding (I used vanilla, but use whatever you like)
2 extra large eggs
1 stick softened butter

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

 

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 350°

 

In a large bowl stir together the cake and pudding mixes. Add the eggs and butter and mix until a dough is formed. This dough is thick, so you might have to put your fingers to work- don't be shy! Add the mini chocolate chips and mix until well incorporated.

 

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased nonstick cookie sheet.

 

Bake for 7-8 minutes, but do not over-bake. Remove immediately and place on a cooling rack.

And I won't tell anyone if you turn two of these cookies into an ice cream sandwich...

 

Enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you are all having a great weekend. I have a sweet treat to share with you all...

 

Sometimes, when I'm trying to watch what I eat and I still want to eat something sinful, I decide to bake something sinful to give away. One would think that this would only make me want the aforementioned baked good even more, but simply baking it sometimes satisfies my craving. Other times, it only makes my craving worse- haha! I decided to make Cookies and Cream Cupcakes for my co-workers at the restaurant this week and I didn't eat a single one! However, I've made these in the past and they're pretty awesome. There's something pretty incredible about an Oreo cookie baked into the bottom of a chocolate cupcake. It softens to perfection and tastes oh-so-amazing. And don't even get me started with homemade buttercream made with Oreos! My coworkers devoured these and they were all excited when they saw the cookie at the bottom.

 

 

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Makes 24 cupcakes

 

Ingredients:

 

1 box of chocolate cake mix, mixed as directed on the box (I used Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake)

24 Oreos, plus 6-8 more for the frosting

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

3 3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla (homemade vanilla extract would be perfect for this, just sayin'...)
2-3 tablespoons milk

Directions:

 

Preheat the oven to 350* F and fill the muffin pans with liners.

 

Place an Oreo cookie in each of the 24 muffin tin liners.

 

Mix the cake mix as directed on the box and fill each liner about 3/4 full.

Bake the cupcakes for 16-18 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, make the frosting. In a food processor, chop the Oreos until they are fine crumbs. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar, milk, and vanilla and beat for 1-2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

Add the Oreo crumbs and mix with a spoon until well incorporated.

Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes or spread the frosting on with a knife.

Enjoy!

Mother's Day: Part 2- Whopper Cake

My mom loves Whoppers. She'll kill me when she sees I wrote this for the whole world to see, but she can polish off a container of Whoppers like it's going out of style... Seriously!

So, when it came time to figure out what kind of cake I would be making her for Mother's Day, Whopper Cake was an obvious choice. I came across the recipe a few months ago and had it in the back of my mind ever since. I was a bit skeptical for a cake recipe that called for Cool Whip in the icing, but it actually tasted pretty good and had the Whopper flavor she loves.

Ingredients:

1 box milk chocolate cake mix
1 1/2 cups chocolate malted milk powder, divided (I could only find the original flavor)
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tub (8 ox.) whipped topping (Cool Whip)
1 cup Whoppers, crushed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350* and spray a 13 x 9 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and coat with flour.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine cake mix with 3/4 cups malted milk powder. Add in eggs, oil, and water. Stir to combine.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes (until a toothpick inserted comes out clean).

Allow cake to cool completely and make topping.

For the topping

In a medium bow, combine whipped topping with remaining malted milk powder. Stir until completely incorporated and no longer grainy.

Spread topping on top of cooled cake.

Top with crushed malted milk balls.


What is your mom's favorite dessert?

Apple Pie with Crumble Topping

Happy Saturday, everyone! I've been super busy, as the end of the semester is fast approaching and the island is becoming more alive and populated. I took one exam last night and another this morning; so far, everything is going well. The two most difficult ones are saved for last... I'm about to really knuckle down with my studying for the next one, but I wanted to first share my apple pie experience with you.

Chuck loves apple pie. I have known this for quite some time and while he may have hinted several times that it is one of his favorite desserts, I have never made it for him. Sure, I have bought the frozen apple pies which require no effort whatsoever, but store bought desserts are always trumped by the fresh homemade ones. This week, I decided I was going to finally make him an apple pie. It only took four years...

I don't have a go-to prized apple pie recipe and neither does my mother, so I relied heavily on Google. I found a recipe that used store-bought crust so that I could cheat a little, and head to the grocery store to get Granny Smith apples.

I carefully peeled, cored, and cut the 3.25 pounds of apples that the recipe called for. I defrosted the pie crust. I added in the additional ingredients for the pie filling. I soon realized that whoever wrote this recipe had no idea what a deep-dish 9" pie pan could actually hold and that they had never actually used this recipe or that they had a serious typo in stating how many pies this recipe would make.

I should have known better. It should have been clear to me that 6 very large apples couldn't possibly fit into one pie pan, but I'm a stickler for following directions (mostly), so I didn't question the recipe. I couldn't even fit half of the pie filling into the pie shell. Thankful that I cheated and bought the pie crust already made (because it came with two shells) and that I didn't only make one from scratch, I turned my apple pie into two apple pies. I guess this makes up for my lack of apple pie baking over the years... The crumb topping was the same way (definitely not for just one pie), only it could have easily been enough topping for four pies. Remind me to never use a recipe from a source that is not tried and true!

After all the pie drama was over and the pies were in the oven baking, the kitchen was filled with the amazing scent of cinnamon, apples, and buttery goodness, and I was in heaven. Because I only used Granny Smith apples, it was a little more on the tart side, but it was still very good and in my humble opinion, much better than the frozen ones.

So, if you're wanting to make an apple pie two apple pies, here's how to do it:

Apple Pie with Crumble Topping

For the filling:

3 1/4 pounds Granny Smith apples (or a mix), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4" thick
2/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350* and thaw two-9" deep dish pie pans as directed on the package.

Mix all the ingredients for the filling in a large bowl and coat the apples. Add the filling to the pie crusts and bake for 40 minutes. (Cover with foil if the crust is browning too much.)

While the pies are baking, prepare the filling. You can either add the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse, wet sand, or you can use a pastry cutter to get the same results.

Remove the pies from the oven and sprinkle the topping (as much or as little as you like) over the pies. Return pies to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the apples are very tender and the topping is golden brown. The filling should be bubbling at the edges.

Cool until warm, about one hour.


Do any of you have stories of following recipes that didn't turn out as planned? Was your recipe ruined or did it turn out well?

White Chocolate Snickerdoodle Blondies

We were so spoiled with such beautiful weather last week and I can't wait until the sun is shining again. This yucky weather makes me want to sleep and eat- that's about it! Baking is something that always seems to lift my spirits and brighten my day.

I made these blondies for my family on Monday night after an easy dinner of my homemade turkey chili and classic grilled cheese. We are a big fan of comfort food in this house! These blondie bars were really easy to make and everyone seemed to enjoy them.

If you're family doesn't really care for snickerdoodles, I would recommend omitting the cinnamon-sugar topping. Without the topping, these are still great blondie bars. You can double the recipe and bake it in a 13" x 9" (just bake a little longer) and you can use different chips instead of white chocolate (dark, milk, semi-sweet, butterscotch, peanut butter, mint, etc.).

White Chocolate Snickerdoodle Blondies

I found this recipe here.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, mixed together

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8" x 8" baking pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl (or stand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Beat in the salt, egg, and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the flour until combined and stir in the chocolate chips. The batter will be very thick like cookie dough.

Spread and press the batter into the pan. (This is much easier to do if you spray your hands with non-stick spray!) Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top.

Bake for 28-30 minutes (I used a 9" x 9" pan and mine were done at 20 minutes), or until bars are lightly browned. Let cool completely before cutting.

Makes 9 bars. Enjoy!

Super Easy Apple Cobbler

Eating homemade apple cobbler sounded amazing. Making apple cobbler from scratch sounded like a pain. I did some quick research and found a super easy recipe to satisfy my craving. It involves a can of pie filling, a cake mix, and some butter; that's it! This cobbler literally melts in your mouth; so good and so buttery!

Ingredients:

1-20 oz. can of apple pie filling
1/2 box [or one whole 9 oz. box] of caramel cake mix [I used Duncan Hines]
3/4 stick of butter [about 6 tablespoons], cut into 25 pieces

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375* and coat a 9x9 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the pie filling in the bottom of the pan. Evenly cover the pie filling with the dry cake mix. Place the butter squares over the cake mix, 5 rows of butter squares with 5 butter squares in each row. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.

It would be a sin if you didn't top this with some vanilla ice cream. Just sayin' :)

Not a fan of apples? You can customize this however you like... cherry, berry, or peach pie filling with white, yellow, or strawberry cake mix. The possibilities are endless!

White Chocolate Blondies

I made these blondies last week for cheat day and Oh. My. Gosh. They were amazing. Incredible. So yummy. I may or may not have eaten about 1/4 of them...You should probably rush out and buy the ingredients today, if you don't have them on hand already. They are that good.

I planned on making the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies from Six Sisters' Stuff, as white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are my absolute favorite. But, when I was down the baking aisle, I couldn't bring myself to pay $6 for 1 cup of macadamia nuts. Long story short, these bars became White Chocolate Blondies and that's just fine with me, especially since I don't really care for the macadamia nut part! If you're not a fan of white chocolate, you can easily substitute it for dark, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate. You could even use peanut butter or butterscotch chips. Oh, and if you're not a cheap-o like me, feel free to add the macadamia nuts!

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325*.

Place the brown sugar and butter in a mixing bowl and cream together on medium speed until smooth. [I used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and it took no time at all; you can do this by hand, but it might take a bit longer.]

While the machine is running, add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well.

Add the flour and baking powder to the mixture, with the speed adjusted to low. Once you have a well-mixed dough, fold in the chocolate chips with a spoon, until well blended.

Grease [nonstick spray works great] and flour a 13x9 pan. Pour the batter into the pan. Use a knife or spoon to evenly spread out the batter as best as you can.

Cook for 25-30 minutes, or until set yet still moist... you don't want to over-bake this! Let the pan cool on a cooling rack and try not to eat them all in one sitting!

Samoa Cupcakes

I hope you all are having a great weekend and I hope you all had a fabulous Valentine's Day; I certainly did! Check out these beautiful sunflowers I found on my kitchen table; so pretty!

 

 

Today I want to share a recipe I came across a few weeks ago for Samoa Cupcakes. Samoas are my favorite Girl Scout cookie so I couldn't pass this recipe up! I asked my mom to make these for my birthday [Valentine's Day] and they were incredible. I may or may not have eaten seven of these over the course of just two days. Oops. At least birthdays only come once a year!

This recipe was found at Six Sisters' Stuff. Those girls never disappoint me!

Ingredients

Cupcake:

1 (15.25 oz) yellow cake mix
Eggs, oil, and water called for on cake mix box
1 (14 oz) jar caramel syrup (like ice cream topping syrup)

Chocolate Ganache:

1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (could also use milk chocolate)

3/4 cup butter

Gooey Coconut Layer:

 

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks (beaten slightly)
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine or butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup coconut

Directions

 

Prepare cake mix as directed on cake mix box (or use your favorite homemade yellow cake mix recipe). Bake as directed and let cool completely.

 

Once cool, take a small sharp knife and cut a circle in the top of each cupcake that is about the size of a nickel. You will only want to go about a 1-2 centimeters deep. Scoop out the small circle that you have cut. Using a spoon, scoop about 1 teaspoon of caramel syrup in each cupcake and replace the small piece back on top.

 

Prepare your ganache by melting chocolate chips and butter in a double boiler or in the microwave (I just microwaved it for 60 seconds and stirred, then microwaved for another 30 seconds and stirred again until it was smooth). Spread ganache on the top of each cupcake.

 

Mix evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, margarine and vanilla together in a sauce pan. Stir constantly over medium heat until it comes to a slow boil. Cook, stirring constantly until it thickens - about 10 to 11 minutes (it must be cooked that long). Remove from heat and stir in coconut. Let cool completely before spreading on top of ganache.

 

Drizzle remaining ganache over the top of the gooey coconut mixture and sprinkle with toasted coconut (totally optional).

 

[My note: To save some time, I recommend making the gooey coconut layer while the cupcakes are cooking in the oven. Otherwise, this recipe will seriously take all night.]